Page 86 of All Packed Up

She screamed as she came flying upward, and he caught her easily, arms wrapping around her waist. They were so close he heard her intake of breath, and Nic slowly lowered her until her feet touched the ground.

“We should go back. We can come back another day, maybe after we go into town for warmer clothes.”

Wendy whined, dragging her feet as he tried to lead her away. “You’re just making it harder to get me naked.”

Nic laughed and took her hand as she finally began walking alongside him.

Nature chirped and creaked around them as they walked, and the silence was nice. But weren’t they talking about—

“So what was the first line you used on Griffith? Or did he pick you up?” Wendy asked.

Nic racked his brain and came up with nothing but… “I can’t really remember. All I recall are a lot of nerves, a little arousal, and somehow, I ended up with his number. I think I was the one who approached him first though.”

“Brave beta,” Wendy teased.

“It was all liquid courage. I wish I was the kind of guy who’d go after what he wanted, but I was young and awkward. So I didn’t even text him.”

Nic hadn’t gone after Stellan either, and now look at the omega. He had a pack and was reunited with his childhood crush.

“Nic!” Wendy chastised. “Why not?”

He shrugged. “I was just nervous.”

That was an understatement. In his mind, why would an alpha like that have ever wanted a beta when he could go after any omega he wanted?

Shaking his head, Nic continued the story, getting the spotlight off himself.

“We flirted for a while when we saw each other at the fights. It took months for me to work up the courage to ask him out after a fight. Maybe the adrenaline from the win helped, but uh…” His cheeks heated.

“You finally fucked?” Wendy supplied.

Nic nodded, wondering if steam was coming off his cheeks. “Basically. Then we started casually dating after that. He started coming to the gym, and I would help him train. It was fun.”

“But?”

“It got really serious, and we both made mistakes. Now we’re here,” he hedged.

“Oh, come on.” Wendy groaned. “You can’t leave me hanging like that!”

Nic sighed and ran a hand over the back of his neck. “It’s hard to talk about,” Nic admitted. “I still regret so much, but there’s nothing I can do about it now. I think that’s the hardest part. Knowing there was nothing I could have done except wait and—”

“Nic, I’m missing a huge part of the story. You’re making me nervous.”

“Grif was an underground fighter.” Nic exhaled. “And while we both knew the risks, we never thought anything of it. So many months went by of just us and the ring and the winnings. It was good.” He and Griffith had been inseparable. They trained together and ate together and often spent nights together and went to the fights together—

“What happened?” she pushed.

Nic walked alongside her, held branches out of her way as he choked the story out. “When he was in the ring, all eyes were on him. He just exuded this confidence that wasn’t cocky, but it put the other opponents on edge. Griffith was simply a really talented fighter. But… underground fighting is still illegal.”

Vines of worry twisted their way through her stomach, and she curled her hand around his bicep, fearing what came next.

“One night the police showed up, scattered us all. We ran. Griffith and I hid. It wasn’t a very good spot, behind some storage containers, but the cops were searching the whole area.”

Nic released a sigh that Wendy imagined matched the weight on his chest.

“There was a break in the fence near us. Griffith discovered it, so I told him to take the chance and run. One of us had a better shot at hiding than both of us.” Nic could see the whole night all over again. The shining blue and red lights slashing across Grif’s features as they hid.

Nic ground his teeth together, regret still as strong as the day everything had gone wrong.